Lewis Hamilton grabbed pole position from team-mate Valtteri Bottas by half a second in the final moments after a red flag halted Q3 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Briton would post an incredible 1m40.593s as Mercedes proved they still have the absolute quickest on the grid, a massive 1.1 seconds faster than Kimi Raikkonen, who was third for Ferrari.
A precautionary engine change for Sebastian Vettel before the session saw the German on the back foot, but he would jump to fourth amid the flurry of fastest laps in the final minutes.
That dropped Max Verstappen’s Red Bull down to fifth position, with the Dutchman’s team-mate Daniel Ricciardo the man responsible for the red flag after hitting the wall exiting Turn 6.
That would allow the Force India duo to finish sixth and seventh after a major battle between their two drivers saw Sergio Perez just ahead of Esteban Ocon as they were split only by a 0.075s.
Lance Stroll kept the good form building after the Canadian Grand Prix making it into Q3 for the second time this year and out-qualifying the sister Williams of Felipe Massa for the first time. The 18-year-old would claim eighth with the Brazilian ninth as Ricciardo completed the top 10.
The advantage of Mercedes power proved crucial in the midfield as the Toro Rosso’s missed Q3 by four tenths of a second, with Daniil Kvyat unable to maintain his positions from practice in 11th. Carlos Sainz would be 12th but will drop to 15th, following his three-place grid penalty for causing the first lap crash in Montreal, that will promote Kevin Magnussen onto the sixth row in the first of the Haas’.
Nico Hulkenberg failed to make Q3 and will start 13th after suspected electronic problems forced him to abandon Q2 early. There was also a strong performance from Pascal Wehrlein, as the German finished half a second clear of Sauber team-mate Marcus Ericsson and will start 14th.
Fernando Alonso was 16th quickest, as neither McLaren made it out of Q1, but will drop to the back due to his 40-place grid penalty alongside Stoffel Vandoorne in 19th place.
That means Romain Grosjean, who was not able to solve his braking problems as he struggled for a clean lap, will start 16th ahead of Ericsson and Jolyon Palmer after the Renault driver suffered a fuel leak in final practice that was not repaired in time for qualifying.
Moving towards the race, during long run practices, Mercedes timing was matched by Ferrari and Red Bull which promises an amazing fight in the race where not a single mistake will be forgiven.